Abell 370
| Abell 370 | |
|---|---|
 Abell 370 seen by the Hubble Space Telescope on 16 July 2009. | |
| Observation data (Epoch J2000) | |
| Constellation(s) | Cetus |
| Right ascension | 02h 39m 50.5s[1] |
| Declination | −01° 35′ 08″[1] |
| Richness class | 0[2] |
| Bautz–Morgan classification | II-III[2] |
| Redshift | 0.375[1] |
| Distance | 1.464 Gpc (4.775 Gly) h−1 0.705[1] |
Abell 370 is a galaxy cluster located nearly 5 billion light-years away from the Earth (at redshift z = 0.375), in the constellation Cetus.[3] Its core is made up of several hundred galaxies. It was catalogued by George Abell, and is the most distant of the clusters he catalogued.
In the 1980s astronomers of Toulouse Observatory discovered a gravitational lens in space between Earth and Abell 370 using the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope.[4][5] A curious arc had been observed earlier near the cluster, but the astronomers were able to recognize it as this phenomenon.[4][6]
Gravitational lensing
[edit]Abell 370 appears to include several arcs of light, including the largest ever discovered with 30" long. It was originally referred to as the Giant Arc, but later renamed to the Dragon Arc.[7] These arcs or deformations are mirages caused by gravitational lensing of distant galaxies by the massive galaxy cluster located between the observer and the magnified galaxies.[3][8] This cluster shows an apparent magnitude of +22.
In 2002, astronomers used this lensing effect to discover a galaxy, HCM-6A, 12.8 billion light years away from Earth. At the time it was the furthest known galaxy.[9]
In 2009, and HST study in the field of Abell 370 revealed in greater detail the 30" long arc with the appearance of a dragon, and hence rebranded as The Dragon[10] by NASA scientists.[11] Its head is composed of a spiral galaxy,[12] with another image of the spiral composing the tail. Several other images form the body of the dragon, all overlapping.[13] These galaxies all lie approximately 5 billion light years away.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c d "NED results for object ABELL 0370". NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED). Retrieved March 15, 2012.
- ^ a b Abell, George O.; Corwin, Harold G. Jr.; Olowin, Ronald P. (May 1989). "A catalog of rich clusters of galaxies" (PDF). Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series. 70 (May 1989): 1–138. Bibcode:1989ApJS...70....1A. doi:10.1086/191333. ISSN 0067-0049. Retrieved March 12, 2012.
- ^ a b Starr, Michelle (13 September 2018). "Hubble Just Revealed Thousands of Hidden Galaxies in This Jaw-Dropping Photo - Hello, new desktop wallpaper". ScienceAlert.com. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
- ^ a b Brunier, Serge (1999-10-28). Majestic Universe: Views from Here to Infinity. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521663076.
- ^ Soucail, G.; Fort, B.; Mellier, Y.; Picat, J. P. (1987-01-01). "A blue ring-like structure in the center of the A 370 cluster of galaxies". Astronomy and Astrophysics. 172: L14–L16. ISSN 0004-6361.
- ^ Bergmann, Anton G.; Petrosian, Vahe; Lynds, Roger (1990-02-01). "Gravitational Lens Models of Arcs in Clusters". The Astrophysical Journal. 350: 23. doi:10.1086/168359. ISSN 0004-637X.
- ^ "Abell 370". HubbleSite. Retrieved 2024-07-18.
- ^ New York Times, "SCIENCE WATCH; Mirages in the Sky May Not Be So Rare" Tuesday, October 18, 1988
- ^ BBC News, "Far away stars light early cosmos" Thursday, 14 March 2002, 11:38 UTC
- ^ Astronomy Now, "Refurbished Hubble gets off to a flying start" Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine 09-09-09 (accessed 2009-11-07)
- ^ New York Times, "The Universe, in High Definition" 09/09/09 (accessed 2009-11-07)
- ^ New Scientist, "Upgraded Hubble telescope spies cosmic 'dragon' " 09.09.09 (accessed 2009-11-07)
- ^ National Geographic, "NEW HUBBLE PICTURES: First Shots From Upgraded Orbiter" Saturday, November 7, 2009 (accessed 2009-11-07)
- ^ "The last of the Frontier Fields — Abell 370". www.spacetelescope.org. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
- Gravitationally lensed images in Abell 370 Authors: Grossman, S. A. & Narayan, R. Bibcode:1989ApJ...344..637G
- Image of Abell 370 released bu STScI HST in May 2017 : A Lot of Galaxies Need Guarding in This NASA Hubble View
External links
[edit]
- Abell 370 on WikiSky: DSS2, SDSS, GALEX, IRAS, Hydrogen α, X-Ray, Astrophoto, Sky Map, Articles and images
- A lot of galaxies need guarding in this NASA Hubble view
